Abstract

South African eating patterns have shifted from undernutrition to overnutrition in the last 40 years, with increases in the average per capita intake of calories by about 300 kilocalories or 12%, from 2 603 kilocalories per day in 1962 to 2 921 kilocalories in 2001, as well as in the amounts of fat (from 61.2 g to 79 g), proteins (from 68.4 g to 75.1 g) and carbohydrates (from 445 g to 478 g).